Too Many 'There's Not Enough 'Back's

They, them, the others, have always spoken about reverse culture shock; what happens when you go home an you start comparing and overlapping cultures until your brain explodes (actual definition, look it up! But actually, don't. Just keep reading). But this trip has been interesting in that since leaving China I have now been to three different cultures in three days. Here is a breakdown of thoughts regarding other cultures while I've still been aware.

When I fist stopped on Hong Kong before the program took place I knew it wasn't much like mainland China but I never realised the difference until the return trip. When we go home from trips, especially Asia, it's easier going knowing your home due tithe obvious things such as other people are white and everyone is speaking English. But in Hong Kong everything is pretty much visually the same, to me it's the same people and the same illegible language. Except that's where the similarities end. The first thing that really shook me was waiting at stop lights. After weaving my way through traffic everyone now stopped and waited until the light turned green. It didn't matter if a car was coming or not, they waited. It was very much like being back in Canada. And Hong Kong seemed spotless! Not quite the same observation I would have made the first time through but this time I was amazed, very little spit on the ground and almost no litter. The other thing that took me aback was the silence. Tim and I were walking through the subway station and I made him stop. There were countless throngs of people coming from everywhere and going anywhere and no one was making a noise! All you could here were the footsteps that almost sounded a little too in unison. It was definitely interesting to see this difference and the things that create a division between Chinese and Hong Kongers. I remember my first time through I was surprised so few people spoke English whereas now I could order without pointing at a placemat!

Singapore took these elements to the extreme! My roommate in Hong Kong had said that his friends disliked Singapore because it was too perfect. I didn't know there could be such a thing but now understand where they are coming from (although I don't object to it!) the city is beyond spotless, the people are friendly, so many cultures and people's are woven together to make that perfect tapestry. While I would never be able to afford to live there I wouldn't mind having to make that trip every once and a whole on a companies expense. The other thing I noticed that intrigued me was how important morality seemed to them. Now I was only In the city for 7 hours so I could be wrong but every sign I saw had two parts, the first being the do/don't do and it was always followed by a why. I wish I had taken a picture or written down an example, I will keep my eyes open for next time. One example would be something like 'Don't litter, Keep our city clean'. This was a huge change from China where the signed simple give the order.

Then landing in Bangkok it was like taking a couple steps back again. While I wouldn't be willing to sleep on the sidewalk, which I would have been okay with in Singapore, it has impressed me more than I thought. I haven't quite figured out if people are genuinely nice or trying some elaborate scam on me. Part of me is probably still suspicious after China and while a few people have tried some scams here, I've run into a lot of people who have come up to me and helped me find my way. Even those that where trying something funny usually ended up being quite helpful anyway. The architecture here is also a lot more like mainland China although with some distinct differences. Temples still have three levels but the stair count is different. The style of the roofs put a different emphasis on the numbers. This is all stuff I would have never noticed four months ago but now I have been burdened with greater knowledge an understanding.

I'm looking forward to the rest of my travels and hope I will be less of a Chinese cheapskate when I finish so I can buy a souvenir or two!

Thanks for stopping by,
Colin

The Tao Te Ching

The following are quotes from the Tao Te Ching (pronounced Dao De Jing). The Tao Te Ching was written by the ancient Chinese philosopher Laozi and is used as the foundational text for Taoism (Daoism). Written around 6BC this text has become a foundation of Chinese culture. Bellow are quotes that I belief pertain greatly to China in the present as well as quotes I simply found interesting/thought-provoking/humorous. Enjoy

Chapter Two

When people see some things as beautiful,

other things become ugly.

When people see some things as good,

other things become bad.

Chapter 11

We shape clay into a pot,

but it is the emptiness inside

that holds whatever we want.

We hammer wood for a house,

but it is the inner space

that makes it livable.

We work with being,

but non-being is what we use.

Chapter 17

When the Master governs, the people

are hardly aware that he exists.

Next best is a leader who is loved.

Next, one who is feared.

The worst is one who is despised.

If you don’t trust the people,

you make them untrustworthy

The Master doesn’t talk, he acts.

When his work is done,

the people say, “Amazing:

we did it, all by ourselves!”

 Chapter 38

When the Tao is lost, there is goodness.

When goodness is lost, there is morality

When morality is lost, there is ritual

Ritual is the husk of true faith,

the beginning of chaos.

Chapter 41

When a superior man hears the Tao,

he immediately begins to embody it.

When an average man hears of the Tao,

he half believes it, half doubts it.

When a foolish man hears of the Tao,

he laughs out loud.

If he didn’t laugh,

it wouldn’t be the Tao.

Chapter 42

The Tao gives birth to One.

One gives birth to Two.

Two gives birth to Three.

Three gives birth to all things.

…

Ordinary men hate solitude.

But the Master makes use of it,

embracing his aloneness, realizing

he is one with the whole universe.

Chapter 59

For governing a country well

there is nothing better than moderation

Chapter 60

Governing a large country

is like frying a small fish.

You spoil it with too much poking.

Chapter 61

When a country obtains great power,

it becomes like the sea:

all streams run downward to into it.

The more powerful it grow,

the greater the need for humility.

Humility means trusting the Tao,

thus never needing to be defensive.

Chapter 65

When they think that they know the answers,

people are difficult to guide.

When they know that they don’t know,

people can find their own way.

Chapter 80

If a country is governed wisely,

its inhabitants will be content.

They enjoy the labor of their hands

and they don’t waste time inventing

labor-saving machines.

Since they dearly love their homes,

they aren’t interesting in travel.

There may be a few wagons and boats,

but these don’t go anywhere.

There may be an arsenal of weapons,

but nobody ever uses them.

People enjoy their food,

take pleasure in being with their families,

spend their weekends working in their gardens,

delight in the doings of the neighbourhood.

And even though the next country is so close

that people can hear its roosters crowing and its dogs barking,

they are content to die of old age

without ever having gone to see it.

The Future of Sino-US History

One of the things I have found most interesting in spending time in China is comparing the different ways that people view China against that which I like to think I know. Now unfortunately everything I write here very well may be proven wrong over the coming years but I thought it might be beneficial for some to take a look at the rising conflict between the two largest powers in the world from the viewpoint of a Canadian in China. The topic of Sino-US relations has been one of interest since watching a video several months back about Fukuyama discussing the matter of world hegemony, and his current beliefs regarding his book The End of History. The title here is a play on words from his more recent article entitled The Future of History (kind of ironic, but okay) which does not call into attention the relationship between China and the United States but relates none the less.

The purpose for me writing this now is multi-fold, one of my assignments for our Contemporary Studies class is to interview Chinese from around China and find their thoughts on the matter. So having done this I had a groundwork for the common thought of any Chinese and then just this morning I came across an article written by Henry Kissinger which is to be the afterword in the next publication of his book On China. To ensure that as little of this as possible is simply me rambling, it be largely quotations from articles, thoughts from Chinese people and some of my own ideas simply drizzled on top. I warn you now, this post is the same length as a paper (without the editing, sorry) but it will be well worth your read.

The following excerpts from Kissinger’s article give a well rounded background to current relations;

“[Chinese] see the United States as a wounded superpower determined to thwart the rise of any challenger, of which China is the most credible. No matter how intensely China pursues cooperation, some Chinese argue, Washington's fixed objective will be to hem in a growing China by military deployment and treaty commitments, thus preventing it from playing its historic role as the Middle Kingdom.

…

In China, the United States would encounter an adversary skilled over the centuries in using prolonged conflict as a strategy and whose doctrine emphasizes the psychological exhaustion of the opponent. In an actual conflict, both sides possess the capabilities and the ingenuity to inflict catastrophic damage on each other. By the time any such hypothetical conflagration drew to a close, all participants would be left exhausted and debilitated. They would then be obliged to face anew the very task that confronts them today: the construction of an international order in which both countries are significant components.

…

The United States will, as it should, continue to make its views known on human rights issues and individual cases. And its day-to-day conduct will express its national preference for democratic principles. But a systematic project to transform China's institutions by diplomatic pressure and economic sanctions is likely to backfire and isolate the very liberals it is intended to assist.

…

The U.S.-Chinese relationship should not be considered as a zero-sum game, nor can the emergence of a prosperous and powerful China be assumed in itself to be an American strategic defeat.

…

The United States has few precedents in its national experience of relating to a country of comparable size, self-confidence, economic achievement, and international scope and yet with such a different culture and political system. Nor does history supply China with precedents for how to relate to a fellow great power with a permanent presence in Asia, a vision of universal ideals not geared toward Chinese conceptions, and alliances with several of China's neighbors. Prior to the United States, all countries establishing such a position did so as a prelude to an attempt to dominate China.

…

The key decision facing both Beijing and Washington is whether to move toward a genuine effort at cooperation or fall into a new version of historic patterns of international rivalry. Both countries have adopted the rhetoric of community. They have even established a high-level forum for it, the Strategic and Economic Dialogue, which meets twice a year. It has been productive on immediate issues, but it is still in the foothills of its ultimate assignment to produce a truly global economic and political order. And if a global order does not emerge in the economic field, barriers to progress on more emotional and less positive-sum issues, such as territory and security, may grow insurmountable.

…

The American debate, on both sides of the political divide, often describes China as a "rising power" that will need to "mature" and learn how to exercise responsibility on the world stage. China, however, sees itself not as a rising power but as a returning one, predominant in its region for two millennia and temporarily displaced by colonial exploiters taking advantage of Chinese domestic strife and decay. It views the prospect of a strong China exercising influence in economic, cultural, political, and military affairs not as an unnatural challenge to world order but rather as a return to normality.“

Kissinger, Henry A, Foreign Affairs; Mar/Apr2012, Vol. 91 Issue 2, p44-55, 12p

Forbes has recently published an article as well entitled bluntly “China Doesn’t Think the US is That Awesome”.

“The United States is no longer seen as “that awesome, nor is it trustworthy, and its example to the world and admonitions to China should therefore be much discounted,” Mr. Wang writes of the general view of China’s leadership.

Many Chinese political elites suspect that it is the United States that is “on the wrong side of history.”

(http://www.forbes.com/sites/raykwong/2012/04/04/china-doesnt-think-the-u-s-is-that-awesome/2/)

In discussion with a group of law students in the ancient capital of Xi’an I was let into the mindset of the Chinese towards the United States. When asked what they thought about Americans they were really nervous at first and conversation stopped. After a little coaxing I got some very interesting answers; “I used to like American culture, but now I’m more rational”, “Americans look down on others”, “Americans don’t like China”. Being a Canadian these answers didn’t really surprise me; it is much of the same response you could get around the world. The latter two I have also witnessed from the Americans within the group although albeit not consciously and not immediately apparent. In later discussion with Americans they were quite appalled that people thought of them this way.

I also asked the question ‘Who is your favorite American President within the past 50 years and why?’ in order to hear some positive things about our neighbour to the south. Now the answer to this question was incredibly specific to China and it blew me away to hear it but it was well validated. The first name out of everyone’s mouth was Nixon. Nixon does not exactly have the best track record in the United States but one of the things he did well was initiate Ping Pong Diplomacy in the 70’s which paved the way to more positive relations between the new Peoples Republic of China and the United States of America.

Another answer I got that surprised me was Obama. At first I figured this may be the only other president they know (really, who reading this knows the current leader in China?) but again the answer came with a solid explanation that he is gentle, not looking for war and doesn’t over exert American influence in the east.

Chinese know much more about America and Americans that Americans know about China and while it may be brushed off because the United States is more powerful and influential I feel forced to ask for how much longer? China is the second largest economy and they have 1/6^th of the world’s population. It is the fact that America seems to ignore China’s success and current position in the world that causes much of the friction. At the moment China owns more US debt than any other nation and with that it means they could destroy the world economy as we know it with a snap of the fingers. To borrow the quote from Kissinger, I have to position myself with the Chinese when they see “the United States as a wounded superpower determined to thwart the rise of any challenger, of which China is the most credible”.

The other argument that Americans have against China is the lack of democracy but after being here, talking with people, and learning about the system, China is much more democratic than it looks. You don’t have to vote for anyone in the party, although that means they know what they are doing. One constituency may have several party member running in which case you vote for the individual, not the party. The party answers only to the people, not to some assembly. After following the upcoming American elections it makes me laugh at democracy in the west, more time is spent parading potential leaders in front of a camera like a dog show than listening to the people and working for the common good. There are still flaws in the Chinese system, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think it’s perfect but on the scale of good governance I have to believe that China is still on the uphill while the west is rolling down the other side. Hopefully this highlights the current but what about the future?

Fukuyama’s article “The Future of History” referenced at the top of the page does away with the current model of countries and looks towards what democracy and nations will look like down the road.

 “Imagine, for a moment, an obscure scribbler today in a garret somewhere trying to outline an ideology of the future that could provide a realistic path toward a world with healthy middle-class societies and robust democracies. What would that ideology look like?

…

It would have to have at least two components, political and economic. Politically, the new ideology would need to reassert the supremacy of democratic politics over economics and legitimate anew government as an expression of the public interest…Economically, the ideology could not begin with a denunciation of capitalism as such, as if old-fashioned socialism were still a viable alternative. It is more the variety of capitalism that is at stake and the degree to which governments should help societies adjust to change.

…

Elites in all societies use their superior access to the political system to protect their interests, absent a countervailing democratic mobilization to rectify the situation. American elites are no exception to the rule.

…

That mobilization will not happen, however, as long as the middle classes of the developed world remain enthralled by the narrative of the past generation: that their interests will be best served by ever-freer markets and smaller states. The alternative narrative is out there, waiting to be born.”

Fukuyama, Francis, Foreign Affairs; Jan/Feb2012, Vol. 91 Issue 1, p53-61, 9p

After reading that I have to say, it sounds like China is much closer to the democracy of the future than the United States; “Americans may today benefit from cheap cell phones, inexpensive clothing, and Facebook, but they increasingly cannot afford their own homes, or health insurance, or comfortable pensions when they retire”.

If you have made it this far I applaud you and I hope you have learned even just a little about China-US Relations and if you have any comments or questions at all please let me know as I also desire to keep looking at it and would love a fresh point of view. (If you want to have a dialogue, feel free to email me at colin_buschman@hotmail.com)

PS. Just so you now know, the current leader is Hu Jintao with power transferring to the fifth generation of leadership Xi Jinping over the next coming months.

Oot 'n Aboot, China Style!

Okay, so I know it's been a little while since my last post and I apologize! To be a little fair, there was a one month period in there where I didn't have my computer. I feel like too much has happened that it has scared me from putting up a new post but I'm going to do it anyway, it will be rushed and probably not quite up to standard quality but it's either this or nothing! Each paragraph is a city with a few pictures for each.

Disclaimer: So blogspot has decided to be uber asinine and not letting the photo's work if I move them in any sense so, this blog is now interactive! The captions are still there and you can match them up with the photo's below. I debated not putting the captions back on for the ones far below but figured that would make it too difficult for some of you. Stupid technology, all I want to do is share information to people all over the world at the click of a button and include photo's taken from a tiny device that fits in my pocket, is that too much to ask!

Life on the farm

So at the start of March we departed for our trek across China. The first step found us in the province of Guizhou, about 45 minutes outside the city of Guiyang on an expats' farm. This portion of the program is meant for us to do a service projectand experience something beyond the tourist China. It was an interesting experience in that we were pretty much in the middle of nowhere on a cattle farm. My work for the week mostly involved the digging of run-off trenches. It was fascinating to see a China so far removed from the coast and even capitalism. Even though the farm was owned by an American/Canadian couple and we didn't meet any actual Chinese, it was the whole experience. The first thing that really made us 'experience' China was the lack of heating. Now in Xiamen they don't have heating either and while I may have complained about this a few times the temperature in my room never dipped far below 13 Celsius. In Guizhou on the other hand though, I don't think I even found a temperature higher than five degrees with our bedroom at night hovering around freezing. This is extremely common in the mountainous/plateau regions of China and I for one am not a fan! This farm was also high enough that we were pretty much in the clouds with fog lasting all day and sometimes no allowing the flashlight to reach the ground.

The village closest to the farm

Beating a Chinese man at international chess in Duyun while eating sugar cane (forced him into a stalemate! Booyah!)

 

Xi'an city wall

After these adventures we flew onward to China's ancient capital Xi'an. This portion was actually a class portion where we had class pretty much every morning about about 50 pages of a textbook to read every night. It was interesting though to be learning ancient Chinese history in the place where it all began. When not in class and not checking out the Terracotta warriors or biking on the 700 year old city wall there was not really a whole lot to do other than shop in the Muslim Quarter or hang out at Starbucks. Seeing the Terracotta warriors is an interesting experience in that everyone in our group was looking forward to it and we have all heard about it since grade school and while it is quite the sight to see all these soldiers that date to 200 BC there's something about the sheer size of it all that, to be honest, is boring. If there was only one it would be like the Mona Lisa and pretty awesome but there's just so many that eventually it gets a little old, no pun intended. I actually preferred to see the ones that were still all smashed up and yet to be properly excavated. Don't get me wrong, it was still awesome!

Hopefully these look vaguely familiar

Pre-rebuilding

Big Wild Goose Pagoda at sunset

Sleeper train!

We finished up our class in Xi'an and then headed off for our 'Spring Break' to Beijing. While in Beijing we did all the historical stuff as a class including the Summer Palace, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and the Great Wall. Funny story about the Great Wall, when we went as a class we must have picked the absolute worst day to go as the fog must have followed us from Guizhou and to be honest, the Great Wall doesn't look all that great when you can only see the ten feet in front of you. To remedy the situation a few of us did go again to a different section of the wall that turned out to be pretty much abandoned where you could go on the un-restored sections. This part of the wall also involved a chair lift to go up and a toboggan/kart thing to come back down, it was pretty fun. Some other fun times in Beijing involved the flag raising ceremony in Tiananmen square after it had been beautifully blanketed with a dusting of snow and of course eating Peking duck in Peking [for those that don't know, Peking is the Manchu/Wade-Gilles pre-1949 spelling/pronunciation of Beijing].

Great Wall take one

Great Wall take two, you can see a little further here...

Glass floor in the Pearl Tower

The last stop on this adventure took us on a 16 hour train ride south to Shanghai. I have never really had any huge desire to go to Shanghai and now that I've been there my feelings haven't not been to altered. It is a wonderfully fanscinating city in that looking at the skyline from 1990 to 2010 you would never think they are the same city (http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/01/picture-of-the-day-shanghai-in-1990-and-2010/69959/).  Shanghai also a history of involvement with the Opium wars with the end result of the older areas of the city looking like the old areas of any European city. the east side of the water is compiled of early 1900 European buildings looking over to the west side with the rising skyscrapers looking like a fights about to break out.
 

Shanghai Skyline

Back across the water from the top of the Pearl Tower

Evening skyline across the water

After visiting these cities, it makes me truly appreciate how lucky I am to be able to study in Xiamen, the air in clean, the roads are lined with palm trees, the ocean is 3 mintues away and it's never too crowded. For someone to say they like China after visiting only Xiamen is like someone saying they love Canada if they only hang out in Ikea. I'm sorry if this blog is less than gripping, my thought the other day followed the lines of either I live a boring life or I'm a horrible story teller, I've settled on the second one, sorry.

Life on the farm

Village closest to the farm

Beating a Chinese man at international chess in Duyun while eating sugar cane (forced him into a stalemate! Booyah!)

Big Wild Goose Pagoda at sunset

Xi'an City Wall

Great Wall take one

Great Wall take two

Pre-Rebuilding

Hopefully these look familiar

Sleeper Train

China and Chuck

Xiamen Campus (a little distorted...)

As previously mentioned China has just entered the new lunar year and the 14 day spring festival. There are certain things everyone does on different days of Spring Festival and the first thing is to go to the temple. There is a Buddhist temple just a couple blocks down from the university which I chose to visit. This wasn’t originally my plan, I was simply going to pick up some groceries but even walking through the campus, it was flooded by locals who chose to spend their day off visiting “China’s most beautiful campus”. Once out into the street there seemed to be cars and busses absolutely everywhere and once I broke free from the stream of people going into the university I got caught up in the flood heading to the temple. I had been the temple quickly before but it was a much different experience when it is crowded with people and the smoke from the incense can be seen a mile away. It was also really neat to see the religious practices here. There was a lot of bowing at statues as well as trying to land money on rocks or inside certain things. Even though I stood out like a sore thumb and didn’t bow to anything, I never got any looks or even second glances. 

Buddhist Temple on Chinese New Year

Following this we decided to host our own cultural event, we watched Mulan. It seemed like a logical thing to do on Chinese New Year! It was actually interesting to see certain elements of the movie now that I am better culturally informed. I wish I could remember an example for you but it was actually a few days ago now. After the movie we headed out to watch the fireworks. I know, you’re probably confused considering I said there were fireworks in the last post, well, it’s China and they like their fireworks. I few of us found a prime location sitting on a boulder on the beach watching them on both our side of the river and across. I’ve seen some good firework shows in my day but nothing quite like this, there were hearts and smiley faces! My favourite were the ones that exploded white and then hung in one spot for about 10 seconds! 

I don’t know how much else of what we did is that interesting to you, but I’ll save some stories when I get home. We’ve started our classes pretty much which is a bit of a drag. Chinese starts bright and early at 8 in the morning! I didn’t even know classes did start that early! If you’re confused by the ‘pretty much’, the reason is classes haven’t started for the rest of the university so we have a prof teaching us Mandarin this week and a different one next week and we’re still waiting for one more class to begin. So far the classes are maybe a little easier than Trinity, there are no papers to write but quizzes on the readings every day. 

Random pond on my way back from class

I know this doesn’t really relate to China it is something I’ve been thinking about recently. One of my favourite shows, Chuck, has recently come to its end. While this is slightly sad it had reached its limit and finished on, in my books, a good note. But, the finally for the show was somewhat of a flashback episode showing clips and snapshots of the last four and a half years. The one thing I enjoyed about chuck was the character development and the characters now are nothing like they were then, they barely even look the same (except for the Baldwin). This really got me thinking about how much I’ve changed in the last five years. I remember watching the very first episode of Chuck, I looked it up and it was in September of 2007. That means I was 17 years old, just starting grade 12 (about the same age as my sister is now). This is taking me back pre-university and even pre-ywam. During this episode Chuck, for a very logical and realistic reason, has to describe the last four years to Sara who has forgotten it all. If I forgot my last four years, how would people remind me of it? Who was I only four years ago and what made me change so much? How similar or different would I be? I know I am a much different person now then I was back then and hopefully mostly for the better. It’s amazing the experiences I’ve had to chance into the person I am today including this semester in China. If someone told 17 year old me the things I have done, places I’ve been, and friendships I have made, I don’t think I would believe them. This last episode really made it evident the changes that we as people go through over time and when we live it we hardly recognize it. Even in the show I forgot how much the characters have changed and developed over time. Anyway, that’s my thought for the post. Hopefully I’ll post more often as I have several topics I’m thinking through at the moment. As always,

Thanks for stopping by!

Paddle boat! Of course I had to do that!

The place to be at night

Surprisingly good!

~Colin

Xiamen and the Year of the Dragon

My View

Hello all! Well, the weekend is just about wrapping up here in Xiamen and it’s actually Chinese New Year’s eve, but I’ll talk more about that later. It’s been interesting coming from Hong Kong to mainland China. Considering we visited both Hong Kong and Macau which are ‘technically’ part of China, I suspected they would not be too much different but I couldn’t be more wrong. For starters, the language is different. In Hong Kong they speak Cantonese compared to the Mandarin used here in Xiamen. People in China are a lot pushier, in the literal pushing sense. On our first day here I stopped by the pharmacy to pick up some vitamins and after figuring out how the system works (Pick your medicine, get a sheet written up, take it to the cashier, pay, take the receipt back to the other lady and get your product) I was in line at the cashier and quickly found out that if I allow more than three inches between me and the person in front, that spot will soon be filled. Hong Kong tended to be good about lines and personal space where as here both are of little concern. In Hong Kong as well almost everyone spoke a varying degree of English and here in the mainland it appears to be solely Mandarin. This is the first time I have gone into a culture with pretty much no way to communicate. 

Xiamen University Campus

One of the books we are reading for our Intercultural Communication class here speaks quite well of the language barrier; “From a man I was again degraded to the dependence of a schoolboy… and helpless and awkward as I have ever been. My condition seemed as destitute of hope as it was devoid of pleasure”. “Average, articulate adults, capable in so many other ways, who are suddenly transformed into virtual mutes, who can only nod and smile foolishly when addressed by well-intentioned, monolingual locals, find the experience demeaning. For all their competence, they feel – and in a sense, are – inferior to the three-year-old neighbour child who may still wet his pants but at least knows how to count to ten.” Thankfully, I have learned to count to ten! I was recently in the market and some kids were behind one of the counters and as I tried to talk to them in mandarin, they looked at me, laughed and then talked a mile a minute while I stood there and tried to explain I couldn’t understand a word they were saying. On my travels I have never felt at such a place where I could not even communicate a simple ‘Hello’ properly. 

Xiamen University Campus

“Language is the primary means of self-expression; when we don’t have language, the self does not get expressed. When the self can no longer be expressed, does it still exist?” I recently bought a cell phone at China Mobile and we went without any translator. All I could do was point at what I wanted, hand them money and figure out what I bought later. In the supermarket, I find I go completely into silence mode, I can’t ask where something is, I can’t even say excuse me or thank you. At the checkout, I only get as far as Ni Hao before they realize I can’t speak Mandarin and the conversation ends. They ask me if I need a bag as they cost extra and all it takes is a look at my blank expression and empty hands before they charge me for one and I go on my way. There is an extreme lack of connection when you can barely share a single word with each other. It is at points like this I am thankfully that I am doing this with a group with whom I can converse with in a slightly easier language. They say that people who are bi-lingual and bi-cultural tend to have different personalities depending on which language they are speaking and I can definitely see how that happens because how can you be yourself if you can’t express yourself. Even as competency in the language increases, your personality tends to focus around the words you know. 

All of this is starting to get better as I slowly learn words and I am now able to barter in the market which is a huge plus to my wallet! We start our proper Mandarin class in a week as the university is shut down for Spring Festival meaning no teacher yet. After a few of those classes I hope I will at least improve to a five year old!

Spring Festival Banquet

One of the most interesting aspects of being in China right now is the fact that it’s Spring Festival. And just actually! As I write this part I just got back from welcoming in the Year of the Dragon. Happy Chinese New Year. So every since we got to mainland China the majority of stores have been closed and the campus has been empty due to everyone going back to their homeland. It’s been a little difficult to get some things done but it all worked out in the end. Sunday at Midnight was New Years (it’s currently 12:26am and I still hear fireworks going off) and that marks the start of the Spring Festival which then lasts for 14 days until the next full moon when they celebrate the Lantern Festival. During these 14 days as well as ten days before and 10 days after, it is nearly impossible to get anything done. It is often compared to the 20^th of December until the 3^rd of January in North America. In order to make the international students feel welcome we were invited to a Chinese New Year Banquet earlier today which involved a 14 course meal. The food was pretty much everything including duck, dragon chicken, turtle, crab, squid, fish, and a few things we weren’t quite sure of. It was a good time. To properly welcome in the year of the dragon we did what most traditional Chinese do, watch the four hour program from Beijing. This show included everything from dancing and singing to break dancing robots and stand-up. It was quite the spectacle. All of China is in the same time zone so you have over 1 billion celebrating midnight at the same time. Although I’m sceptical, we were told about 90% of the population of China tunes in every year. (Update 1:03 and still fireworks)

I think that’s all I have for now but I have figured out how to access blogspot from China so I should be able to post frequently! As well, check out some of the pics included!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great year of the dragon,

 ~Colin

SO MUCH POCKY!!!!

Awesome building in a Buddhist Monastery

PS. All quotes pulled from "The Art of Crossing Cultures" by Craig Storti. I don't want SOPA coming after me!

Another Day, Another Stamp in the Passport

End of the weekend and what a weekend it's been. On Saturday the entire group headed over to Macau. It is interesting to compare Hong Kong and Macau considering they have a similar recent history but couldn't of had a more different past. Macau was settled by Portugal in the 16th century during what I assume is the peak of their power. From there it appears Macau has been almost ignored by Portugal and left to its own affairs. Macau lacks a metro type transit system an instead relies on buses. The streets are narrow and usually filled with people as the sidewalks are even narrower. After coming back to Hong Kong from Macau, Hong Kong seems empty. Hong Long developed as a wealthy city which can be seen in the money they put into their transit and parks while Macau seems to rely on money made from gambling. It's pretty much the Las Vegas of Asia. Macau also has some interesting church ruins which unfortunately fail to compare with Antigua. Later in the day I found myself in the History of Macau museum wandering around when two Chinese students came up to me and started talking. David and Ten, the students, are both second years in university in China and they were looking to practice their English. They both spoke English quite well and proved to be a great source of information regarding the history of Macau and China as a whole. I asked them what they thought as far as Hong Kong and Macau being a part of China and they both looked at me like I was stupid for asking such a thing. They both saw the cities as 100% China. Later in the day Taiwan also came up and again they both asserted it is without a doubt part of China. We also discussed the life of a student in China compared with the west and it was interesting how similar we are. Ten mentioned that he gets most of his cultural view of America from the TV show Heroes. They were both pretty shocked to hear that American students are not swimming in money. Once we left the museum it just so happened half the group was standing outside so I offered to introduce them to 'proper' Americans and while they were both excited they turned to me an asked, how do we greet them? Should we shake their hand? And while greetings were very American, being head nods, this just highlighted cultural differences.

On Sunday, after going to an English church I found myself in yet another museum, Hong Kong Museum of Art. It was fascinating to see both modern Chinese art as well as ancient pottery, some as old as 5000 years. Many of the modern paintings told the story of the incoming western culture versus traditional Chinese culture. My favorite was a room with a wilting lotus with white words of an English poem falling around it like snow. The story here is that while the west comes and wilts the lotus (Chinese culture) in the end the lotus never dies and the snow melts away. Seeing much of the art also helped to highlight the history and China and the importance of the dynasties. Every piece of art instead of getting an approximate date was given the dynasty from which it originated. Hopefully some of those names and dates stuck as this is how much of Chinese history works an will be important to know.

I have really enjoyed my time in Hong Kong and as much as I love this city I am excited to get to Xiamen on Wednesday and really get going.

Random thought: Chopstick rests are the greatest invention since urinals in pot-a-potties! (Let's not argue over which came first, it's really a chicken or egg thing)

P.S. I had some more pictures to include but the internet is choosing not to cooperate, I'll try and post them later.

What? I have to learn here?

Well, it's been a few days and the groups all here. Right now we are staying at a YWCA camp in the New Territories of Hong Kong, pretty much the exact opposite side of the city from where I stayed when I first got here. It's been interesting to compare my view of the city with the rest of the group. When we are out and about I have no problem wandering by myself and not knowing where I am. I would have to say this is one of the first cities I feel comfortable doing that so quickly. I've already seen the tall building and markets here so when the rest of the group is doing that I usually find myself wandering one of the many beautiful parks here. This city and I seem to sync pretty well and in discussion I've been asked if I would live here. The short answer would be not for long. I could do a year or two but in the end there are simply too many people. The one thing that rattles me the most here is how no one seems to notice me. After The Philippines and Guatemala I was kind of used to standing out and being noticed for it but here in Hong Kong I am just one of the crowd. White people aren't anything special or even noteworthy. It's freeing but a different experience as well.

One of the interesting parts in the group dynamics is how quickly I've become the guy and appears and disappears, who does his own thing. The scary part is I've been trying to avoid that this time but apparently to little avail. At this point it must be really who I am. But let me stop there, I'm not sure anyone wants to read the analysis of Colin.

In our classes we have started learning small cultural snippets as well as background to the Chinese language. Once we get to Xiamen out classes are actually going to really begin, which means 8 o'clock classes. Not looking forward to that part.

Our class today really focused on the Church in China and including a little history and what it looks like today. It's fascinating to hear all of this from our prof whose wife is a native Chinese and a member at a 3-Self Church. Often these churches are portrayed in North America as government run when really all they are are government registered. Due to its history China provides freedom of religion but also freedom from religion. While closer to the capital they might be a little more restrictive on the church, in most of China churches are free to do whatever they please. Chinese are allowed to be Christians and Christians are welcome but a foreign Christian must not try to convert Chinese. This comes back to the British in the 19th century.

I have also heard about bibles not being available there and while this may be true, it is for different reasons than many think. Bibles may be bought in any bookstore and are printed in Mandarin but the problem is the demand is too high. Many westerners feel they must try to smuggle bibles in but really its a lot cheaper to give money to a Chinese charity which will print them in China and disperse them. It appears the government is quite lax toward religion. I do have to warn this is currently all hear-say but from a fairly reliable source.

Random moment: After visiting the flamingos, which you naturally find in a Hong Kong park, climbing up the castle tower and then of course firing the canons they had there toward the invading Chinese. Random enough for you?

Leffe and a Lemur

I know I just did a post but the last one was suppose to go up last night. I'm finally sitting down to my first actual meal! Unfortunately for you, it still not anything near Asian. I found a little British place and ordered some fish and chips. Mock me all you will but I have four months to eat Asian cuisine and only a couple more hours to enjoy a Leffe while watching the crowd.

This morning in my meanders I went to Time Square. I pretty much only went there for the name but I found out its actually like a 14 story mall. Each floor is pretty small but it contained everything my western consumerist heart could desire. It's amazing the contrast in Hong Kong between the wealthy and poor and how little it appears to matter to people. I was walking down a street which I was certain was off the beaten track and a lot of whole in the wall shops when suddenly there was a Cartier dealership! I can't even find one of those in Calgary! And among the people there seems to be no real separation other than clothing.

One of the things that really fascinated me so far is the abundance of smart phones. I know it's Asia do its kind of assumed but when riding the subway a least 8 of 10 people are playing on their smartphone. With this is also how well Samsung is doing in Hong Kong with their Galaxy. I would guess at least 40% of the smartphone market is Galaxy with 50% being iPhones. Poor Blackberry is way far behind, I have yet to see one. 

I also love all the free stuff Hong Kong has to offer. Walking through the botanical gardens there's suddenly a little zoo in the middle (with monkeys, hence the name of the post)! The city never fails to surprise me. The government also offers free wifi at many of their prime tourist destinations which is always handy as well. After two days in the city I have rode more escalators than the rest of my life put together, walked far too many stairs, been lost countless times and ended up in some of the most wonderful places.  

Please forgive me as I try and get back into blogging mode, hopefully once life slows down a little it will be more deep thoughts and less... this. But tomorrow morning I meet up with the rest of the group so I'm pretty stoked about that and then next week it's off to Xiamen! Woot!

Thanks for stopping by!

Awkward moment of the day: being a Canadian sitting in a British pub in the middle of Hong Kong listening to Born in the USA